In 2011, households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 20.6 percent compared to 12.2percent.

In 2011, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (20.6 percent), especially households with children headed by single women (36.8 percent) or single men (24.9 percent), Black non-Hispanic households (25.1 percent) and Hispanic households (26.2 percent).

In 2011, 8.8 percent of seniors living alone (1 million households) were food insecure.

Food insecurity exists in every county in America, ranging from a low of 5 percent in Steele County, ND to a high of 37 percent in Holmes County, MS.v

Seven states exhibited statistically significant higher household food insecurity rates than the U.S. national average 2009-2011:iv

United States 14.7%

Mississippi 19.2%

Texas 18.5%

Arkansas 19.2%

Alabama 17.4%

Georgia 17.4%

Florida 16.2%

North Carolina 17.1%

Use of Emergency Food Assistance and Federal Food Assistance Programsvi

In 2011, 5.1 percent of all U.S. households (6.1 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times. vii

In 2011, 57.2 percent of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance programs –Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamp Program), The National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. viii

Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to an estimated 37 million low-income people annually, a 46 percent increase from 25 million since Hunger in America 2006. ix

Among members of Feeding America, 74 percent of pantries, 65 percent of kitchens, and 54 percent of shelters reported that there had been an increase since 2006 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites.x

Unemployment Rates for StatesAnnual AverageRankingsYear: 2011

Rank

State

Rate

UNITED STATES

8.9

1

NORTH DAKOTA

3.5

2

NEBRASKA

4.4

3

SOUTH DAKOTA

4.7

4

NEW HAMPSHIRE

5.4

5

VERMONT

5.6

6

IOWA

5.9

7

WYOMING

6.0

8

OKLAHOMA

6.2

8

VIRGINIA

6.2

10

MINNESOTA

6.4

11

HAWAII

6.7

11

KANSAS

6.7

11

UTAH

6.7

14

MONTANA

6.8

15

MARYLAND

7.0

16

DELAWARE

7.3

16

LOUISIANA

7.3

18

MASSACHUSETTS

7.4

18

NEW MEXICO

7.4

20

MAINE

7.5

20

WISCONSIN

7.5

22

ALASKA

7.6

23

PENNSYLVANIA

7.9

23

TEXAS

7.9

25

ARKANSAS

8.0

25

WEST VIRGINIA

8.0

27

NEW YORK

8.2

28

COLORADO

8.3

29

MISSOURI

8.6

29

OHIO

8.6

31

IDAHO

8.7

32

CONNECTICUT

8.8

33

ALABAMA

9.0

33

INDIANA

9.0

35

TENNESSEE

9.2

35

WASHINGTON

9.2

37

NEW JERSEY

9.3

38

ARIZONA

9.5

38

KENTUCKY

9.5

38

OREGON

9.5

41

GEORGIA

9.8

41

ILLINOIS

9.8

43

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

10.2

44

MICHIGAN

10.3

44

SOUTH CAROLINA

10.3

46

FLORIDA

10.5

46

NORTH CAROLINA

10.5

48

MISSISSIPPI

10.7

49

RHODE ISLAND

11.3

50

CALIFORNIA

11.7

51

NEVADA

13.5

i U.S. Census Bureau. Carmen DeNavas-Walt, B. Proctor, C. Lee. Income, Poverty, and Heath Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010. September 2011.